Above all else, guard your heart. For everything you do flows from it. Psalm 4:23

Have you noticed yourself becoming a bit more tempermental in recent days? Do you feel a bit closer to the boiling point? How are you faring at guarding your heart?

In the spirit of complete transparency, I tend to get a little loose with my speech when I’m stressed. In choice of language, tone and volume. I have worked hard to clean up my act so I knew I was in deep weeds last week when I caught myself slipping. Repeatedly.

Harsh tone with my husband. Loud voice with my kids. Less than stellar language when recounting a story.

You’ve probably heard the old adage about garbage in, garbage out. Celebrity trainers spout this when trying to get their clients to watch their diet. The same truth applies to our mental and spiritual health. We are to guard our hearts from garbage or we will produce the same in response.

The world has been flipped upside down in many regards. What has your response been? Have you guarded your heart from the influx of information that awaits at the flip of a switch 24 hours a day? Have you started your morning with a prayer of gratitude, asking God to lead you? Or have you immediately grabbed your phone to see what the latest headlines are screaming at you?

How often have you checked some form of news each day? Each hour? Even though it provides necessary info, the news can be tainted with tension and rhetoric, leaving us upset and exhausted. Conversely, when is the last time you paused for some quiet time and a devotional?

What flows into your heart and mind will surely flow out. To your loved ones, strangers, coworkers. It will impact your relationships, your productivity, your intentionality. Guard your heart. Choose carefully what you read, listen to, and watch.

Challenge- It’s important to be informed but much of what we’re viewing is the same information rehashed by a different reporter on a different channel. Set a time limit on what you allow yourself to watch today regarding current events. Choose an alternate activity to do when the desire arises. Say a prayer, take a walk, tickle your kids. Catch yourself when you’re stepping into the habit of fueling your heart and mind with unnecessary noise.

Lord, we ask that you make it crystal clear when we are allowing unnecessary words, images and ideas into our mind. Help us to awaken each day and reach for your word versus the latest news. Give us a desire to guard our hearts.